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U.S.-Mexico Border States Must Report Bulk Rifle Sales

Earlier
today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a
decision upholding a new gun sale reporting rule. In July 2011, the U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) sent demand letters
to gun dealers in border states (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas),
requiring that each dealer send a report to the ATF when it sells “two or more
semi-automatic rifles capable of accepting a detachable magazine and with a
caliber greater than .22 (including .223/5.56 caliber) to an unlicensed
person.” Sales occurring on or after
August 14, 2011, are subject to the new rule.
The ATF has reported that thousands of U.S. firearms are illegally
brought into Mexico each year, specifically citing that authorities in Mexico
recovered over 68,000 U.S. guns between 2007 and 2011.

In
response to the case brought by The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.,
J&G Sales, Ltd., and Foothills Firearms, LLC, the Court found that the Gun
Control Act of 1968 “unambiguously authorizes” the ATF’s new policy. While the appellants argued that the ATF’s
policy overstepped a congressional mandate against creating a national gun
registry, the Court concluded that the ATF’s demand letter applied to a small
percentage of gun dealers and an even smaller percentage of gun sales, stating:
“In short, because ATF sent the demand letter to only seven percent of
[dealers] nationwide and required information on only a small number of
transactions, the July 2011 demand letter does not come close to creating a
‘national firearms registry.’” The full
text of the opinion is available here.